So many firsts!!

It’s been a crazy time around the Johnson house. Christmas is quickly approaching and we are busy trying to get everything ready. We are so excited to celebrate Ryan’s first Christmas. It’s amazing getting to watch all the new things and firsts in his life. We moved Ryan to his room a week ago and he has been sleeping in his crib. He has done really well; as a matter of fact, he has done better than either of us thought he would. I, on the other hand, have lost some sleep trying to adjust to him not being in our room. I am getting used to listening to the monitor instead of him when he wakes up but I still miss getting to just roll over and look at him. Getting out of bed, sneaking into his room and being as quite as I possibly can be makes peeking at him much harder. Another first, Ryan has learned to roll over from back to tummy. Actually, it was his second night in his crib that I went in there and found him on his stomach. I couldn’t believe it. We were so worried that we would miss this because he would do it at daycare that it never crossed our minds we would miss it while he was in his crib, little stinker. It took him a few more days to do it on the floor without pushing off the sides of the crib but he is now rolling over like he is a pro. I have been worried about him sleeping on his tummy so we have been using a sleep positioner to keep him in place and on his back. However, he has now learned how to scoot out of that when he gets really worked up in his crib. Didn’t take him long either, I think we have only been using it for a few days. He is a tricky little guy. This weekend he slept 10 ½ hours straight two days in a row so I think the positioner helped him sleep as well (when I woke up in the morning before he did I was worried and had to go check on him). I have also had to move his baby tub into the bathroom and put it in the big tub for his baths. He is a crazy splasher and gets water every where. I really enjoyed using the kitchen sink with his baby tub because I didn’t have to kneel over but I got tired of mopping up gallons of water from the kitchen floor. He is so much fun during bath time though that I barley notice the uncomfortable feeling of bending over the bathtub. We have really enjoyed these last couple of weeks. Ryan is adjusting to daycare well and napping there much better. So when we get home he is so excited to see us and still in a good mood. Another big piece of news, we have officially decided to move to Frankfort and are now in the process of getting our house ready to put on the market. We aren’t for sure exactly what we are going to do once we sell our house though. Right now, we are thinking about having a house built because we haven’t found a house that we like (I am picky and want a brand new house and we would like to get 4 bedrooms). Surprisingly, there aren’t a lot of houses on the market in Frankfort right now that meet our criteria but I am sure that as spring approaches that will change. So who knows what will end up happening. But if you know anyone in the market for a 3 bedroom in Nicholasville let them know about our house; it backs to the city/county park so there are no neighbors behind you (a big plus!). We are going to be busy painting and putting in new carpet soon. Here are some pics from the last two weeks.




Playing with Daddy, one of his favorite things to do.




After his first night in his crib.




Splash, splash!!




Playing on the floor.




Such a happy baby (and very ticklish)!




Ryan made an ornament at daycare that says his name on it. Here we are hanging on the tree next to his other ornament.




And here he is sucking his thumb on the drive home

Thanksgiving, 4 Months and much more!

It's been a couple of weeks since I have had a chance to update our blog (sorry) but life has been busy. Work has been really busy lately trying to process returns before the end of the year; that's a deadline that just can't be changed. And life at home is always busy with a baby. Ryan is doing ok at daycare. He still isn't doing much of his schedule but I am hoping now that he is getting used to taking naps there we can get him back on track and on schedule. He still does pretty well at home for his schedule. We still really need to work on getting him back to sleep when we drop him off at daycare or better yet not to wake up at all. I failed to take many pictures at Thanksgiving but I did take a few. It was a great holiday! Ryan was a bit intimidated by all the people; he just wasn't for sure what to do about the crowd. Hopefully, he will do better at Christmas. It was nice to see my Dad and for Ryan to get to spend some time with his Grandpa who made the trip down from Illinois. We are all looking forward to Chris, Nikki, Aubrey and Hayden to make the trip down at Christmas time!! I really enjoyed spending time with family; something that is hard to do with a busy life and a baby. Ryan had his 4 month check up on Friday and the doctor said he is doing great. He weighed in at 15lbs (50th percentile) even, he is 25 1/2 inches long (69th percentile) and his head was 41 cm in circumference (41st percentile). He has caught up in his height; which has made his Daddy very happy! He did really well with his shots. He did cry a little but stopped as soon as I picked him up. He was a bit fussy and sleep the rest of the day though and did run a little bit higher temp than normal but all is well again this morning. We are looking forward to enjoying Christmas this year with our little guy. Yes, he won't really know what is going on but we will enjoy having him here. We put our tree up and decorated around the house. Ryan didn't seem to care too much but does enjoy the lights. Right now we are working on getting him to sleep in his crib; something I have been putting off and not looking forward to. He is just getting to big for his napper in the pack-n-play and I know I should have moved him awhile ago. Hopefully the transition goes smoothly because I don't want to mess up his night sleep. Here are some pictures from the last couple of weeks.

Ryan at daycare with some of his buddies.

Thanksgiving: Playing with Aunt Jennifer.

Playing with cousin Jessica

With Grandpa (have you noticed a recurring theme? Ryan's hands are always in his mouth).

Ryan is becoming much more interested in toys now. He will actually grab them and play with them.

He is getting close to rolling over (back to belly, doesn't really care about doing it the other way). He just can't seem to figure out what to do with that arm and how to get it out of the way.




He is playing more and more with his toys. He now grabs the toys hanging from his play gym. And he is finding his feet. He will kick the toys, grab his toes and play with them.

Ryan and Mommy hanging up his first Christmas ornament.

And the ornament looks like this.

Ryan looking at the tree.

My 4 month old beautiful boy!!

Doing much better!

Ryan is doing much better at daycare! Such good news, I have been so worried about him. He is starting to take more naps there; not long naps but more naps so that is a start. Hopefully soon he can nap longer and get into that second cycle of sleep that is so important for his growing body. And growing he is. I had to take him to the doctor a week and a half ago because his cold was not getting any better. Turns out, the cold turned in to an ear infection. I never would have known. He wasn’t fussy and was still sleeping just fine. I am glad I took him in and it looks like we caught it early. He has been on medicine to help clear it up and when I took him back on Friday the doctor said that he was all better. I was very happy to hear that. While there, they weighed him and he weighed 13 lbs 15oz at the first visit (11/6) and 14lbs 4ozs at the second visit (11/13). So he is still gaining right on track. He is making friends at daycare and it is so cute to see him interact with the other babies. And thankfully, he is adjusting to the longer days and is more awake at night when we get home so Mommy and Daddy get to spend some time with him during the week. This past weekend we went on his first road trip and went to Louisville. He did great. He slept the whole way there and the whole way back. We did a little bit of shopping, ate at the Cheesecake Factory (so yummy) and then went to the zoo. It was so nice out and a great day to be outside. He slept for the first little bit at the zoo but was awake looking around at all the animals for the most part. Not surprisingly, he could have cared less about the smaller animals but he was interested in the bigger ones. I didn’t expect for him to be as interested as he was. We got a good reaction out of him when he saw the giraffes because we got to get up real close to it. His eyes got all big and his mouth dropped open, he could have stayed and stared at it for a long time. He was too cute. We all had a great time. Then yesterday was the first time he went to the nursery at church, they said he did great but he didn’t take a nap while there. Luckily he did when we got home and he wasn’t too fussy the rest of the day. Besides that, not much else is going on. We are falling into a normal routine and working out the kinks in it. Ryan is such a great baby that he is making things very smooth for us. Below are some pictures from the past couple of weeks and the zoo. Plus, check out our photographer’s website for his 3 month pictures. Click on the link http://carlislephotography.smugmug.com/Proofs then search for Johnson R. 3 months, password is johnson. They turned out really cute even though we didn’t get a lot of smiles from him (he was sleepy).


A picture just to show how chubby my boy is getting. And he is always chewing on his hands, can't keep them out of his mouth.




Dressed up like a big boy! Such a cutie!





Ryan watched his first UK basketball game this past week and wore his first UK t-shirt (well, he didn't watch it; he isn't allowed to watch tv but he played in his swing while Mommy and Daddy watched UK).




At the zoo.

3 Months!

Ryan is 3 months old now. He is doing well and growing quickly. He is not a little guy anymore (although he will always be our little baby). He started daycare last week and it is going ok. He doesn’t nap well there though. I am hoping it is just a phase. I know it will take some time for him to get used to the noise, the other babies, and new people but it is so hard to see him so tired. Last week when we picked him up he went right to sleep in the car and slept the whole night. He would wake up to eat and then go right back to sleep. Last week was definitely hard because we were missing our little guy so much when all he would do was sleep when we picked him up. So far this week he still isn’t napping well at daycare but is staying awake a little more at home but is a bit fussy and has to be held by Mommy. Plus, he came down with his first cold. Poor little guy. I am sure it was a combination of being overly tired and his immune system being down due to that and then being around all the new babies and people (who carry all kinds of new germs he hasn’t been around). Friday night was pretty rough. He woke up several times because he was so congested he couldn’t breathe. Luckily, he is doing better already and is almost over it; although Jonathan and I came down with it. I made Jonathan take medicine as soon as I got sick to try to avoid him getting too sick and it worked well. Hopefully we don’t keep giving it back and forth to each other. The daycare workers say Ryan is such a great baby and doesn’t cry except when he gets hungry. And that he is so curious that he just spends all his time looking around and taking everything in. I have a feeling he is going to be too curious for his own good. He has been a little more attached to his Mommy since he has started daycare because he is so tired and in a strange place during the day (honestly, that doesn’t bother me one bit). We didn’t go anywhere for Halloween since he was sick but we did dress him up. He was the cutest pumpkin ever. Jonathan made fun of me when I bought the costume but loved it. Ryan didn’t mind that we dressed him up either. And since Jonathan and I were laughing so much he did too. Hopefully we can get into a good routine and everyone can adjust. I am adjusting back to work well and enjoying my new position. Jonathan enjoyed his two weeks off with Ryan but is glad to be back to work. We go Saturday for Ryan’s 3 month pictures and I am very excited about that. However, it is hard to get a smile on camera from him. He will be smiling and laughing and as soon as you pick up the camera he quits and just stares at the camera. Here are some pictures that I have taken over the last couple of weeks.

We put him the bumbo chair for the first time a couple of weeks ago. He enjoyed being able to sit up. Here is a picture of him smiling at his Daddy.

Playing with Daddy.

When Jonathan was home with Ryan they came to visit me at work.

We put him to work.

One of his favorite poses; putting his dukes up.

Being a cool little dude.

Happy Halloween!!! You can't tell from the picture but he was laughing right before this.

We put together his jumperoo over the weekend and put him in it. He is still too small for it though so we will have to wait a little longer before he can play in it.

Our 3 month old little guy!

Growing

Ryan is growing like a weed. I can't believe how fast he has grown. I have been looking back at some of his newborn pictures and it amazes me that he was that small. He is doing really well so far. He eats well; which has been a blessing as I have heard horror stories about breast feeding so I am very thankful that this is still going smooth for us. He has been sleeping 7 to 8 hours every night since he was 7 1/2 weeks old; again, a huge blessing for me. I do love my sleep so this has been so nice and has made for a much happier Mommy. And his naps are starting to get better but we are still working hard on those. We are working on keeping a constant schedule right now so that when he starts daycare on the 26th everyone will know what he is doing every day. Being back at work and away from Ryan has been so hard; much harder than I ever thought before he was here. I still cry some and I am hoping it gets easier to leave him but so far it hasn't been. I never thought before that I would actually consider staying at home with him but since his arrival I have really wished it was a possibility. If only money grew on trees. Last week he was staying awake in the mornings to see me more and I was struggling to get him to go back to sleep (no one wants a baby to be awake at 4:30 in the morning). But this week he has been a little better about that. Although the evenings have gotten a little more difficult. He has not wanted me to put him down anywhere. It just breaks my heart to see him get upset. He usually loves his swing but every time I have tried to put him in it during the evening he cries until I get him out. He will sit on the couch with me though while I eat dinner but I have to be touching him. Jonathan is staying home with him this week and next week and they are having a great time. Ryan seems to be enjoying his time with his Daddy. But when I get home Ryan is ready for some Mommy time and gets very clingy. And both of them had a bad night on Monday. Some how Jonathan scared Ryan, not even on purpose, and Ryan clung to me for a good 30 minutes before he would let me do anything. Poor guys were both so upset by it. Ryan has been smiling a lot more and we are getting some out loud laughs and giggles. Its amazing how your heart just melts when you hear that and the whole world stops. Then you spend the rest of the day trying to get him to do it again. We haven't really done anything lately since I have been back at work. The weekends are spent just getting normal errands done and spending some family time together. I am kind of looking forward to Ryan going to daycare so we can start getting a normal routine going. And I mean normal as in this is what it is going to be like for quit sometime. Jonathan and I are hoping to take Ryan to the zoo soon. We wanted to go tomorrow; unfortunately the weather had other plans. Hopefully next Friday will be sunny and warm so we can go. While Ryan won't really care much about the animals or anything, Jonathan and I love the zoo and are really looking forward to taking Ryan. That's it for now. Here are some random photos from the last two weeks.

Ryan loves taking walks when the weather is nice. He will spend some time looking around and then about half way into it he is asleep.

He is such a happy morning baby.

Our first trip to church with Ryan. I got him all dressed up and looking cute and then he slept through the whole thing. It was good he did though because the next week he didn't and while he didn't cry he was quit the destraction for our Sunday school class.

Mommy and a sleepy baby.

Daddy and a sleepy baby.

He is getting much better at tummy time.

He loves when someone plays with him.

Story time. Ryan does pretty good for story time but some times we can only get through half a story before he gets restless.

Cookie monster ate the baby!

Chubby baby!

2 months!

It is so hard to believe that two months ago today Ryan was born. Time has flown by and he has grown so much. Our lives have changed so much in the last two months and I can't (nor do I want to) imagine my life without our little guy in it. We had his two month check up today and wow was I surprised to see how much he had grown. He weighed in at 12 lbs 1 oz and was 22 and 3/4 inches long. I knew he had put on a lot of weight (you can just look at him and tell) but wasn't expecting over 4 lbs in two months! The first thing Dr. Gillispie said when he came in the room was "well, we know breastfeeding is going well and don't have to worry about that" since Ryan had gained so much weight. He also had his first round of vaccines today. He did cry but only for a couple of minutes. Once they were done with them and I was able to pick him up he calmed down rather quickly. And thankfully he hasn't seemed to have had any reaction to them at all so far. This week was also my first week back at work. I did not want to leave him at all. Going to work on Monday was one of the hardest things I have had to do. I, of course, cried several times throughout the week. I was hoping it would get easier but it didn't. Maybe over time it will but I would still rather be at home with him. I don't want to miss anything and they change so much this early. I really miss getting to spend time with him in the morning. He is such a happy baby in the morning. I am glad that he is at least getting to spend sometime with his Aunt Jennifer, Uncle Kenny and his cousins though since Jennifer is watching him for these first two weeks. They all seem to be enjoying it and Ryan is transitioning well. I am sure putting him in daycare in a couple of weeks will be hard as well. Last night Ryan slept for 8 straight hours!! It was so nice and here is to hoping it wasn't a fluke and that it continues. Overall, Ryan is a great baby and we couldn't ask for anything more. He smiles all the time. He coos and will carry on a conversation with you by cooing back at you. He focuses really well on objects and is getting very good with his head control. He is starting to do better at his naps but if that is the only thing we have problems with then we can't complain. He is a very healthy, strong baby and we feel so blessed. Here are a few pictures from the last couple of weeks.

Still so precious when he is sleeping.

He is starting to enjoy his play gym.

But his favorite is still the swing, he loves it!

Daddy and Ryan

Enjoying his swing, he loves looking at the mobile on top. His first friends!

Thankfully he is strapped in to the swing because he has learned how to kick the tray open.

Ryan and his new buddy, Sadie.

Jennifer got a really good smile out of him here.

Cousin Shelby bonding with Ryan.

Ryan at two months old.